Listen up, governor: No new taxes

Californians were all atwitter and perched on the edge of their seats, yearning to learn how Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will fix this massive budget deficit.

OK, just kidding.

The truth is the state government budget is an amorphous abstraction for most everyone. How much is $100 billion anyway? We suspect most Californians worry more about the dime increase for a gallon of gasoline than whether the state faces a $10 billion or $20 billion shortfall. The budget probably only begins to be real for most people if it directly touches their lives. Tax-paid teachers get riled at the prospect of funding cuts, for example.

However, we believe there’s something that brings Sacramento’s fiscal machinations up close and personal for nearly everyone. Tell Mr. and Ms. California their taxes are increasing and watch their reaction.

That’s why we think raising taxes to balance the budget will be a hard sell. Republicans seem to grasp this concept a tad better than their counterparts. Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines unflinchingly has opposed tax increases. Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill also recently ruled out tax increases. Even the governor, whose conservative bona fides are reasonably in question, still officially holds to the “no new taxes” mantra, despite his apparent waffle of insisting “everything is on the table.”

Democrat legislative leaders, however, argue for increasing taxes as part of the budget solution, as if their overspending weren’t the root of the problem. They might want to phone home before going too far down that road.

A May 7 poll on the California Majority Report, a Democrat Party Web site operated by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez’s own spokesman, asked how to balance the budget. It should be an eye-opener.

The most popular answer – 44.4 percent – said: “Go along with GOP demands for a cuts-only budget.” (Mind you, this is a Democratic Web site.)

Only 29.2 percent chose “a balanced solution of cuts and taxes,” and even fewer, 19.1 percent, said to make no further spending cuts. A 7-percent segment opted for the wisecrack, “Allow the GOP to shut down state government.”

We know Web site polls aren’t scientific, but we also know people don’t want to pay more for services if they already feel overcharged. As Democrats and Republicans absorb this week’s bad news from the governor on how much red ink must be sopped up, we hope they are mindful that most Californians see state services in the abstract. But taxes come right out of their pockets.